Thursday, March 29, 2007

Hackers Attack DoD's myPay Military Wage User Accounts

The myPay website is known throughout the Department of Defense as a useful tool servicemembers can use to securely keep track of their leave and earnings statement. However, one Navy Region Southeast Sailor learned that no computer system is completely safe from the onslaught of hackers.

This Navy Band Southeast Sailor's myPay account was hacked and his direct deposit information changed, sending his paycheck into a prepaid card he did not own. It was only a few months before earlier that a dozen Sailors' Thrift Savings Plan funds were withdrawn using similar means.

According to reports and e-mails circulating this week, a hacker well versed in military pay accounts compromised the Sailor's personal computer. As with the TSP theft two months ago, a hacker used key logging software to log the Sailor's keystrokes while he was accessing his myPay account from the privacy of his home. On the day before payday, the hacker accessed the Sailor's account and changed the direct deposit information to transfer the funds into a foreign account.